EZEKIEL 14:1-14 GIVE YOUR HEART TO GOD2016 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ezekiel 14:1-14 Give Your Heart To God

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2016. Well, this morning, as we look at Ezekiel chapter 14, I've titled the message, Give Your Heart to God. And I would like to begin by asking you to consider, how are you doing with the most important thing in life?

How are you doing? How well are you performing, or how well are you handling the most important, the most crucial, the most important thing in your life? What is that most important thing? Well, you might know where I'm headed with this, but Jesus said in Matthew chapter 22, the greatest commandment, in response to one of the teachers who asked them a question, what's the greatest commandment, the most important thing in all of the scriptures?

Jesus responded in Matthew chapter 22, verse 37. He says, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And he said, this is the first and the great commandment. This is, above everything else, the most important thing in life. Loving God with all your heart. It stands above all the rest of the commandment's.

So there is a commandment that you shall not murder. This commandment is more important than the command to not murder. And so if you're thinking you're pretty good because you're not murdering people, Jesus says, well, that's not the most important thing. That's not the standard by which you will be measured by or judged by or evaluated by with the Lord.

Not murdering people is an important commandment, but it's not the greatest commandment. The most important thing, as far as God is concerned, about you and your life is where are you at in loving God with all of your heart? This command stands above the command to not cheat, not steal, not lie. This command stands above the commands of scriptures to love your spouse and

To husbands, love your wife, and wives, be submitted to your husbands. This command stands above those commands. It's more important that you love God with all your heart than you have a good marriage. It's more important than your family. It's more important than going to church. It's more important than driving the speed limit. It's more important than making money, and it's more important than voting for the right person this November. The most important thing in your life

according to Jesus, is that you love God with all of your heart. So how are you doing with that? And where are you at in regards to your love of God and your heart with God? And so this morning, as we look at Ezekiel, again, the message is titled, Give Your Heart to God, because that is what is required. That is what is needed for us to be able to have this

full on, all out, loving God with all your heart and soul and mind, that is the greatest commandment. And so there's four points that we're going to walk through here in Ezekiel chapter 14 this morning to talk about giving our hearts to God and how to really fulfill this great commandment that has been given to us. The first point that we'll find is in verses one through three. Here's point number one. God is not obligated to speak directly

to a divided heart. As we begin talking about giving your heart to God, you need to know something about your heart. Your heart many times is divided, just like the people of Israel, and we'll see the elders of Israel, they have divided hearts this morning. You and I also have the tendency, the potential, and the danger of having divided hearts. And when our heart is divided in regards to the Lord, you need to understand and you need to know

that puts God in a place where he is not obligated to speak to you. Check out verse 1. It says, So we begin at this passage looking at a situation where Ezekiel is in Babylon. He's in captivity with the rest of the Jews who've been taken captive out of Jerusalem. But they still have a little bit of freedom. And so they're still elders for the people of Israel. They're in Babylon.

And these elders come before Ezekiel. The idea here is that they're coming to hear from the Lord. They're coming. He's a prophet. They want to hear what God has to say. And it doesn't record for us if they had a special request, if there was a specific piece of information that they wanted or desired or some kind of direction that they were wanting. But whatever there was on their hearts or their minds, they come and they sit before Ezekiel to hear from God.

And we could look at that and think, well, that's a great thing to see people, authorities, leaders of the land want to come and hear from God. That seems like a good thing. But there's more happening than just what's on the outside. And so God speaks in verse 2. It says,

Here the Lord asks a rhetorical question, but he's involving and engaging Ezekiel in this thought process in handling these elders who've come before Ezekiel to hear from the Lord. Here are these elders who want to hear from God, but who gets to decide if that happens? Who gets to decide if these elders actually hear from God or not?

Just because they show up doesn't mean that God has to speak and give them the information that they're seeking or give them a word that they want to hear. God has the final say. He gets to choose if he's going to respond or not. And he's looking not at the external that, okay, great, leaders have come to hear from me. That's awesome. Well, let's speak. But God looks through the outward motions. He looks at their hearts and he says,

points out to Ezekiel, Ezekiel, there's a problem with these guys. They've set up idols in their hearts. Now, idolatry was a big issue for the people of Israel. It was part of what brought them to Babylon because when they were back in Jerusalem, in their homeland, they refused to give up worshiping the idols that they had created.

And idolatry, you know, for them was just like you might think about it. Statues and laying down or bowing down and worshiping and burning incense and sacrifices to these idols, to these statues that they created. But idolatry is not limited to that scene. In fact, you can see here, God points it out. These guys have set up idols in their hearts. Idolatry is not really about the outward things that take place, but it's about the issues of the heart and emotions.

These guys were taken into captivity, and so they had to leave the statues behind. The statues, usually made out of gold or silver, you know, those precious metals. Babylon said, no, you can't keep that. We're taking all the treasure. You're captives. And so they went to Babylon. They were taken to Babylon. They had to leave all of their physical idols behind, but they hadn't left the idolatry of their heart behind.

And there was still a problem there. There was still a big issue here. These guys have set up idols in their hearts. And so God says, should I listen to them? Now, if you're wondering what to think about in terms of idolatry, I think it's important to understand for ourselves today, again, having a divided heart is the same thing as having idols in our hearts. It's something that you and I face today.

Idolatry in our hearts happens when anything takes the place of God in our hearts. When our passions are divided between God and other things, that God deserves the priority, the first and foremost position, that He is the one who is to be the object of our heart, our pursuit. He is the one to be first and foremost above everything else, that we are devoted to Him before anything else.

That we're devoted to him, we're passionate about him more than the Dodgers or anything else. That he is the thing that we're most passionate about, most devoted to, most in love with, most dedicated to. That he is first and foremost in our life. And anything lesser than that is idolatry in our hearts. And it might be one thing that is competing with God in our hearts, or it might be a multitude of things that competes with God in our hearts. Yeah.

But as God is analyzing the hearts here, we're going to find out that the only way that God accepts it is when our hearts are completely turned over to him. And again, that's why the message title is Give Your Heart to God. Not a piece of it, not a part of it, not elements of your life, but what God desires and requires is a wholehearted commitment to him. To love God with all of your heart is the greatest commandments. So,

God looks at the heart of these men and says they've got idols set up in their hearts. That's further demonstrated. It's further illustrated in verse 3. He says, One of the manifestations of the idolatry and the division in their hearts was they kept in their lives things that caused them to stumble.

And this is something I would really ask you to consider and pray through and evaluate in your life. Do you ever set yourself up to fail? Do you set yourself up to fall into sin? Do you allow things to continue in your life that you know get you in trouble and kind of encourage you in engaging in activity and behavior and mindsets and thoughts that you know are not of God?

Maybe there's some people that you really like to hang out with, but you know, you find that every time you hang out with them, somehow you get in trouble. Somehow you start down a path of, well, chasing the wrong things, pursuing the wrong things, engaged in activities that you know are sinful. But you're not willing to sever the relationship. You're not willing to change that

You keep those relationships. You keep the, hey, I don't want to live a full-on party life and life of sin, but every once in a while. And so you keep those connections. Or maybe think about it this way. Maybe there's a TV show that you really love to watch. Now that TV show that you love to watch stirs up within you discontentment.

So that, hey, you're fine, you're walking with the Lord, you're hearing from God, it's like, yeah, I want to go forward. And then that show comes on and you're like, oh man, I wish. And your whole perspective changes, your whole demeanor changes, and the rest of the week is ruined because you don't have the things that they had in the show or you haven't achieved that or whatever. That it stirs up within you, it changes what's happening in your heart, your focus and your perspective on life. And yet, it's your favorite show, so you're not willing to turn it off, but...

Every week you have to face this battle because, well, the show comes on and there it is. Maybe that TV show causes you to hold on to some drama where you have committed over and over, I'm going to forgive, I'm going to let this go, and then here comes that nice drama scene that happens week after week on this show and it stirs up within you again, yeah, I've had that happen to me. I can't believe that person did that to me. And it causes you to hold on to bitterness again.

It stirs up those things that don't belong, but you're not willing to cut it out of your life. You're not willing to let it go. Maybe there's that show that you love to watch, but it causes you to wrestle with lust after that perfect girl or lust after that romantic guy that is the guy of your dreams. And now you're unhappy with the person that you're with because, you know, and you're wrestling with these things and they get stirred up over and over and over again by these same things that keep on feeding you.

this struggle that you have. Now, that's just a couple examples. People you spend time with, maybe TV shows you watch, stuff you keep around. The list could go on and on, but here's the question. Do you set yourself up to fail? None of those things are excuses for us, for our sin. None of those excuse us. Well, we like to think it does, right? That's one of the reasons why we keep those things around because, well, our weaknesses are weaknesses that we enjoy, right?

I mean, you know what it's like, right? To throw yourself a pity party. And you know it's not good, and you know it's immature, and you know it's dumb. But in the moment, boy, does it feel good. That pity party, it's like, it's great. Even though you're miserable, even though you hate it. But it's great, you know? There's a part of your flesh that enjoys that, and so you engage in it. And sometimes we allow these things. The Lord said, they put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity.

They allow these things into their lives. You and I, we allow things into our lives. We all have weaknesses, and we all know that there is those things that cause us to wrestle with those weaknesses more than the things of the Lord in our lives. And yet, why do we allow those things to continually be put before us? It's a good indication that our heart is divided. Do you keep stuff around that encourages you to fall? It's an indication. Your heart is not where it needs to be. There's some idolatry going on. There's some division that's happening.

And here's the question that God asks in response to that in verse 3. Should I let myself be inquired of at all by them? So here's the condition of these men, these elders. Their hearts are divided and they continually set themselves up to fall into sin. They're not really serious about getting right with me. So should I let them inquire of me? Should I let them ask for insight and direction and whatever it is that they want? And should I let that happen? God asks Ezekiel.

Now, it's a rhetorical question. The answer is no. He wants us to think about this. God is not obligated to speak to a divided heart. You are welcome to ask God whatever you want, but you need to understand that God sees your heart, and he's the one who gets to decide whether or not to answer you. He's not obligated to answer you when your heart is divided. You want God's direction. You want God's insight. You want to know how to deal with situations in your life and handle certain things that are going on. Here's what you need to do.

Give your heart to God. Be completely sold out, completely given over to him. Make him the highest priority. And even if that requires radical changes in your life, give your heart to God because God has no obligation to you until you are fully committed to him in that way. Well, that leads us into point number two found in verses four through six, and that is God requires your whole heart.

What God requires is not a piece, not just like a Sunday morning piece of your heart, you know, the rest of your heart, the rest of your life, that's yours. But Sunday morning, you got to come to church. That's God's part. God requires your whole heart, absolute devotion, complete commitment. He requires everything that you have and everything that you are to be given over to him. Verse four, therefore speak to them and say to them, thus says the Lord God,

God tells Ezekiel,

After inviting him to think about what's going on and showing him the heart of these men, he says, okay, here's the message. You're to respond to them. Now, again, it doesn't tell us exactly what these elders were wanting from the Lord. They might have been asking about Jerusalem and if that was going to survive and how soon they could go back to Jerusalem. They might have been asking about some specific situation that they faced there in Babylon. We don't know.

But the answer that the Lord gives to Ezekiel to give to these guys is not the answer that they were expecting. Here's the message. Ezekiel is to tell them, whoever of the house of Israel, whoever sets up idols in their heart and allows the things that cause them to stumble to continually be put before them, if that person comes and inquires of the Lord to the prophet,

God says, I, the Lord, will answer him. If that person comes and asks God a question and asks God for insider counsel, God says, Ezekiel, you don't have to worry about answering in that situation. Their hearts are divided. I'll handle it, God is saying. And when God says, I am going to answer, don't take that in a good sense. Like, all right, I'll get some special revelation from the Lord. No, what God is saying is, Ezekiel, you don't have to say anything because I'm going to bring judgment into their lives.

I'm going to bring strong discipline to their lives because of the idols of their hearts. And you see, the point that God is making here is that he has a real problem with divided hearts. This passage makes that abundantly clear. He has a real problem when our hearts are divided between many things or even just a couple things. When God is not first and foremost in our lives. He's talking about his own people. He's talking about us.

When we have idols in our hearts, when we're entertaining sin, but then notice, he says, they have these idols. They put before them what causes them to stumble, and then they also come to the prophet. So you have this entertainment of sin in your life, and you come to church on Sunday inquiring of God. God says, I'm talking to you, and there's a real problem with this. I'm going to deal with that person, Ezekiel.

Again, this is not a good thing. This is God saying, I'm going to speak not through the prophet, but I'm going to bring judgment and correction. Now, God's not just being mean. He has a real important purpose in all of this. In verse 5, he says that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart because they are all estranged from me by their idols. So here's the objective of God. The reason why he's going to respond this way and deal severely and seriously with Israel

this division of the heart, he does so to get their heart back. He does so. He deals with the divisions of the heart in order to bring his people back to a right heart. He says, because they're all estranged from me. God requires your whole heart. And if it's divided, you have to know, you have to understand, whatever you're holding on to instead of God, God's going to deal with that.

He's going to bring it down. He will not allow those things to stand. Every idol will fall. Every high thing will be cast down. The Lord alone will be exalted. He alone will be exalted. And that's why he requires your whole heart to be devoted to him. The commentator John B. Taylor puts it this way. The Lord demands an exclusive allegiance.

as well as outwardly from his people. And those who consult him or pray to him when they cherish other gods in their hearts will not be heard. The Lord requires, he demands an exclusive allegiance. Again, he's first, he's foremost, he stands above all else. And what he says goes, what he desires goes, even above our own desires and plans and thoughts and wants and wishes.

And it matters. It matters if it's inwardly and not just outwardly. Now these elders on the outside probably looked fine. In fact, even in their idolatry, they were, you know, practicing the same thing everybody else around them was practicing. So they didn't stand out. It wasn't like they were especially wicked. That was the norm for the people of Israel at that time. So outwardly, if we were there, we would have looked and said, yeah, they're elders. They look pretty good.

But God looks through that to the heart and he says, even if it looks like everything's okay on the outside, if your heart is divided, if your goals and dreams and passions and devotions are not to me first and foremost above everything else, there's an issue. And I'm not going to hear when you come and inquire. I'm not going to answer that. I'm going to instead deal with that idolatry. In verse 6, the Lord says, therefore say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God, repent. Repent.

Here's the cure for a divided heart. Repent. Repent. Turn away from idolatry. And those things that are in your life that you're tied to, that you're chasing after, that you're pursuing instead of God or trying to do both, you know, pursue God and those things. He says, repent. Knock it off. Turn. Stop it. And turn your face from all your abominations.

Don't put up with sin. Don't put up with compromise. Don't put up with those things that cause you to stumble, that cause you to wrestle with those weaknesses that you know are there, but you allow those stumbling blocks to just kind of stick around because every once in a while, it feels good to engage in that sinful behavior. How serious are you about dealing with sin? How serious are you about cleansing your heart and getting right with God?

How serious are you? You need to repent of sin and not play around with it. You know, Jesus described this pretty clearly. He said, look, if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. And that's an illustration. It's not an application, okay? Illustration. Deal with it seriously. That doesn't mean you go to the physical application of actually cutting off your hand. But it's a dramatic illustration to say, look, this is how seriously you need to take it.

Because it's better to enter into eternity maimed than it is to enter in, or to not enter in at all. It's better to enter in maimed than to not enter in at all. So deal with sin seriously. If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. That's not an application, but it's an illustration. It's an important one. Deal seriously with sin.

The children of Israel had a feast that the Lord gave them, the feast of unleavened bread. And as part of this, they were to search and scour the house and make sure all the leaven was taken out and move all the furniture, look behind, you know, just make sure every element of leaven was taken out. It's a good picture of sin and how we're to handle it, that we need to scour the house and scour our hearts and make sure we get rid of it.

And so often, it's easy for us to just kind of put up with sin and to kind of let it hang around a little bit. And every once in a while, we stumble into that. We stumble over there because we've set ourselves up to fall. We haven't dealt seriously with sin. And so these elders come, but their hearts are divided. And so God says, I'm not going to answer their inquire. I'm not going to answer what they're looking for. And he gives them a different answer. Instead, the answer is repent. Turn from your idols. Turn from your abominations.

And that's an important thing to take note of. When God gives you a different response than you are expecting, make sure that you listen to it. Because the response that God gives you is more important than whatever response you are looking for. And sometimes we are asking God something, right? And maybe even this morning, you've come and you've been, you know, thinking as you were headed to church, as you were on your way, you were thinking, God,

Man, Lord, I really want you to show me what you want me to do in this situation. But I really need some comfort here. So I'm hoping, Lord, I come to service and you're going to meet me there and just give me some comfort. I'm just really hurting. Or maybe you come to church and you're thinking, man, Lord, I need some insight into how to handle this family situation, deal with these kids. And I need some direction. I need some insight. I need some healing. I need some comfort. We might have a variety of things. And we come inquiring of the Lord.

But already we're halfway through the message and you're like, okay, well, I guess I'm not getting the answer to my question. You know, it's like, not what I expected. That's not what I wanted to hear this morning necessarily. But the Lord has you here and he has this message going forth because this is more important than anything else you were hoping to hear from God today. Repent, turn from your sin and give your heart to God.

The commentator Charles Dyer says, instead of giving these elders the information they desired, God instructed Ezekiel to give them the information they needed. This is what we need more than anything else. But so many times we come to God with our requests. Lord, I really need to know, should I take this job or not? Or how should I get a job? Or what should I do? Or who should my spouse be? Or whatever. And we want this information. And the Lord responds and speaks to us.

about giving our heart to God. No, no, no. I'm not talking about that right now. I'm not asking about that, Lord. But what about my job? You know, but what about this? And what about that? And he's giving us the answer that we're not expecting because the answer that he's giving us is more important. The thing that he is speaking to us is far more important than what it is that we are wanting to hear.

Have you ever been tricked by a verse? I've been tricked by a verse before. Here's a good example of one. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, for this is the will of God. And I've been tricked by that before. Lots of people have. You do a scripture search, how to find the will of God, and it pulls up 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. All right, this is the will of God. And you're like, all right, good, because I need to know if I should go left or right. This is the will of God, your sanctification. And you're like, oh, that's not...

That's not what I was asking for when I was asking for the will of God. That's not, I was thinking it was going to be something else. I was thinking this was going to be the key to know exactly what lottery numbers I should play tomorrow. But God says, here's my will for you, your sanctification. And there's a part of us that might think, you know, God, you're just messing with me. I thought it was going to get real information that would be helpful for my life. And God says, you just did. Here's the most important thing you need.

My will for you is your sanctification. The word sanctified, it means to be set apart. That means to be set apart from sin, called repentance, and set apart for God. That's devoted to God. This is giving your heart to God, being wholehearted to God.

in your relationship with God, loving God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul. That is God's will for you. And that's more important than anything else you might be asking about or wanting to know or struggling with or wrestling with. This is the issue that is first and foremost, whether you acknowledge that or not. And so again, how serious are you about dealing with sin? How serious are you about letting things go and

Taking God at his word and turning from those things that are destructive to your life. How serious are you about giving God your whole heart? Because that's what God requires. So many times we get stuck on, I need to know what to do about my family.

Let me tell you what to do about your family. Whatever situation you're in, whatever thing you're facing, whether you're trying to help someone or, you know, deal with a problem or guide someone or raise kids or whatever, whatever your family situation might be, I have the answer for you. Give your heart to God. That's the answer. Everything else follows after that. And if you're wanting the information about how to deal with your family, but you're not willing to give your heart to God, God says, I'm not obligated to tell you anything.

Because your heart's not given over to me. In fact, I'm going to now deal with the idols of your heart because you've brought this to me. Because you know me, you know I'm God, you know better, but you won't let go of those things that you're holding on to. Maybe you come to God and you're like, Lord, I need to know how to provide. The bills are due and I can't figure out how we're going to make ends meet. I can't figure out how we're going to make these payments. I don't know how we're going to survive. I don't know how we're going to eat. I need to know what to do.

And God would say to you, give your heart to me. No, but Lord, I need, tomorrow the bills are due. I need to know what to do today because tomorrow the bills are due. God says, give your heart to me. This is the issue that is the highest priority, the most urgency, the most important. We must give our hearts to God. We come asking for direction.

And the answer is give your heart to God. You need help? Give your heart to God. You need deliverance? You need healing? Give your heart to God. Completely, totally, that is the most important thing. Not just in general. Sometimes we confuse a little bit urgency versus importance. And sometimes, you know, that pressure, that issue that's right in front of us, that feels urgent. And so we think it takes priority. But God says it doesn't take priority. This is still most important. Where's your heart?

Are you loving God with all of your heart and soul and mind? How serious are you about dealing with sin? How serious are you about getting rid of it? If you try to live a double life, what God is explaining here in this passage, you open yourself up to a stricter judgment because you know better, because you know God.

And for you to live and engage in all the sinful practices that unbelievers practice in and still try to come back and worship God and inquire of God, God says, you know better, and you know you know better, and I know you know better, and I know where your heart's at. And so you are going to be dealt with in a more stricter way than the unbeliever who's doing those very same things because they don't know better, but you know the Lord. Again, God's talking to his people about their idols, right?

His people about their idols. That's us. Give your whole heart to God. That's what he requires. You're welcome to ask whatever you want, but God sees your heart. He knows what's really going on. He knows where your devotions are. He knows where your passions are. He knows where your allegiances lie. And you need to be completely sold out to him. Verse 7 through 11 now gives us point number three. And that is that God works against a divided heart.

Here, God shows that he is very serious about this issue. This is not a minor thing. This is not a secondary thing. He is willing even to work directly against those who have divided hearts. God says, I'm going to fight against you when you come to me with a divided heart. Now,

He's working against us, but that's really from our perspective. He actually is working for us when he comes against us in the divisions of our heart. You can see that in verse 11. I'm going to jump down there and then come back up. Verse 11, you see his objective. He says that the house of Israel may no longer stray from me nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, says the Lord God. That's God's objective. So it

As we get into those verses leading up to that, understand this is where God's taking it. So that they'll be my people and I will be their God. Their hearts will be given to me. And they'll no longer be caught up in those things that are profane. I'm going to deal with their sin is what God's saying. So that we can have right relationship again. Verse 7.

Now that might sound a little familiar because now this is the third time God is saying these things.

This is the condition of the elders. They have idols in their hearts and they set up these things in their lives or they allow these things to be set up that continue to cause them to stumble. And then God tells Ezekiel, tell them, hey, you guys who have these idols in your hearts and allow these things in your life that cause you to stumble. And now tell them again, anyone who has these idols in their hearts and allow these things that continue to cause them to stumble. And then that person, when they come to a prophet to inquire,

The Lord says, I will answer him by myself. Again, he's talking about, I'm going to deal with that sin. If you try to live a double life, you open yourself up to stricter judgment because he's talking to those who know him. He's talking to his own people and saying, you're trying to do both. You're trying to have a heart that's divided. You're trying to live a life of sin and indulge yourself and indulge your flesh and come and hear from the Lord and get all the benefits of God's direction and instruction.

And God says, I'm not going to put up with it. Check out verse 8. God says, okay, so the person who has a divided heart but comes to me to inquire of the Lord, you want to know direction, you want to know insight, you want healing, you want comfort, you want help, you want strength, whatever.

You're inquiring of the Lord, but your heart's divided. God says, I will set my face against that man. I will set my face against that woman. I will set my face against you, God says. That's pretty serious. God says, I'm going to be working against you. For you, but against you. And he says, I'm going to cut him off from the midst of my people, and then you'll know that I am the Lord. Again, the objective is so that you know that he is the Lord.

But in order to get you there, because you have these divisions in your heart, he says, I'm going to have to deal with you pretty severely. And I'm going to make you a proverb and a sign. I'll make you a sign and a proverb, he says in verse 8. Now, quick show of hands. Anybody want to be a sign and a proverb for the Lord? I hope not. What's a sign and a proverb? Well, you know how we make references to Sodom and Gomorrah? That's a sign and a proverb.

We recall, remember, oh yeah, their wickedness was so great, God rained down fire and brimstone and just wiped them out. That's a sign and a proverb. Don't be like Sodom and Gomorrah. Anybody want to sign up to be a sign and a proverb to our generation? Later on, we'll be like, yeah, remember Pastor Dave? It's a good warning not to go down that path. You want to be a sign and a proverb? God says, come to me with a divided heart and ask me for direction.

Come to me with a divided heart and ask me for something. Ask me for insight. Ask me for healing. And not be willing to give yourself to me entirely. God invites everybody to come, but there are requirements. God requires your whole heart. And if you try to fake it, if you try to put on a show and look good, but your heart's wrong, God knows. And he's going to deal with that. And it's not going to be pretty. He will work against you. It's for your good so that you'll know he's God.

But, you know, similar things were said of Pharaoh. Remember in Egypt when Pharaoh kept hardening his heart and refusing? No. Okay, God, okay, yeah, yeah, let up the plague, let up the plague. No, I'm not going to listen to God. I'm not going to do what God says. Another plague. Okay, okay, okay, let up the plague, God. God entertained that a few times.

But he took him through that process all throughout saying, you're going to know I'm the Lord. You're going to know I'm the Lord. Generations after you are going to know I'm the Lord because of what I did to you. Listen, that can be our state, our condition so easily. When we come to God with divisions in our heart, with idols in our heart, when we allow these things to continue in our lives that cause us to stumble, and we inquire of the Lord, we're giving opportunity for God to say, okay,

I needed a fresh sign and proverb. You know, there hasn't been any since Sodom and Gomorrah. So now thank you for volunteering. I'm being a little bit harsher, okay? But you get the point, right? God takes this seriously. He's serious about this. He works against a divided heart. And if a prophet is induced to speak anything, I, the Lord, have induced that prophet and will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him among my people Israel.

God says, I am so against the divided heart that if you go to a prophet with a divided heart and that prophet says something to you, it's not a good message from me. It's a message that I've induced that prophet. I've caused that prophet to give, but it's their deception that they're giving to you. It's not God's truth. He's talking about the false prophets. The false prophets were feeding the people lies, telling them what they wanted to hear,

telling them what they hoped to hear, telling them things that were not from God. And God says, look, when your heart's divided and you go and you hear from the Lord, but your heart's divided, that's not actually from me. That's the prophet deceiving you. And they're going to be dealt with and judged, God goes on to say in verse 10, they shall bear their iniquity. The punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired. So the prophet who responds to that person with a divided heart, they're going to be dealt with just like the person with the divided heart is going to be dealt with.

Because they're false prophets. They're not speaking on behalf of God. H.A. Ironside says, It is a principle in scripture that when men refuse the truth, God himself often gives them up to falsehood. You can see this several times. We could dig into it, but not today. But this is a principle. When you refuse to listen to God, sometimes God decides, okay, I'm going to give you over to a lie then. If you don't receive the truth...

I'm going to help you fully embrace that lie that you're holding on to. You see, we as people often do not take God at his word. And we insist on finding out for ourselves whether or not it's the truth. It's the most foolish thing we could ever do. When God tells us what the truth is, we need to accept it as the truth. You don't have to learn for yourself that idolatry is wrong and sinful and harmful. But if we insist on having a divided heart and chasing after these things that we know are not of God...

One of the ways that God deals with that is sometimes is he'll just turn us over to it. Okay, you want to pursue that? All right, I'm going to push you in it. I'm going to cause you to fully embrace that. You're going to be immersed in that then because that's the fastest way to bring you to the end where you realize how empty and false and void and harmful that activity, that practice, those things are. So I'm going to turn you over to it completely so that you get to the end and realize that

God really was telling the truth. Sin really did bring death and destruction into my life. You won't listen to me, God says. Okay, well, hurry up. Let's try it your way so that we can get that over with and go forward with the right way. And so they will not receive the truth of God. And so God says, all right, I'll give you some false prophets. Just turn you over to that completely. To get to the end fast so that you realize those are worthless promises. It didn't deliver what I thought it was going to deliver. It didn't bring the fulfillment of life that I thought it would bring.

And then you'll know that he is the Lord. Paul talks about this to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4. He says, you know, time's going to come where people will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they're going to heap up teachers. And they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. This is a real danger for us. When we insist on having those divisions and those idols and those things in our lives,

we easily are turned away and turned aside to these false teachings, to these false ideas, fables that bring more harm and destruction in our lives. And God's intention is so that we experience that harm and destruction and recognize that those things are void, that they are valueless, that he really is the Lord. And he really knows what he's talking about. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2 that when the Antichrist comes...

There's going to be lying signs and wonders. There's going to be great power demonstrated. And that people will receive him because they did not receive the love of the truth. Because you didn't give your heart to God and you weren't radical about walking with God. You didn't want to love the truth. You didn't want to know the truth. You wanted to hold on to your lies. God says, here's some lies for you to believe. Go ahead.

God will work against a divided heart. So that, verse 11, the house of Israel may no longer stray from me nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, says the Lord God. That's God's purpose.

He wants to bring you to the end of that line so you can see that goes nowhere. It leads to emptiness. It leads to more hurt, more harm, more destruction. That thing that you thought was going to save you and fulfill you and make your life awesome did exactly the opposite because that's what I told you it was going to do. But if you live life my way, God says, if you give your heart to God,

Well, then you have all these promises about all things are going to work together for good. You have promises of God's peace and love and grace and mercy and abundance and blessing and all of eternity. There's great promises if you give your heart to God. But when you try to do it your way, sometimes God's just going to say, okay, go ahead, try it your way. Give you over to it completely. He's going to work against those idols. He's going to destroy those idols in your life so that you know that he is the Lord God.

Well, moving on to verses 12 through 14 to finish up the morning, point number four is you are responsible for your own heart. You are responsible for your own heart. And this really moves into a new prophecy. It's not necessarily, you know, happening immediately after what we've just been reading, but I think it's appropriate for us to consider briefly what the Lord says here. In verse 12, the word of the Lord came to me or came again to me saying, son of man,

When a land sins against me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out my hand against it. I will cut off its supply of bread and send famine on it and cut off man and beast from it. Verse 14. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they would only deliver themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God. Here's the other thing you need to know about giving your heart to God. You're responsible for your own heart, right?

And you can bring deliverance to your own self, to your own life, by giving your heart to God, even when you're in the midst of a land that is in persistent unfaithfulness. And so the idea here is Jerusalem has insisted on their rebellion against God, but even though God is going to judge the nation, and already has been, that's why Ezekiel and many others are in Babylon, but you as an individual, he says, you can deliver yourself with your righteousness, but you can't deliver the rest of the people.

But your walk with God, your relationship with God is effective for you. When a land is in persistent unfaithfulness, man, I can't help but think about our own nation and not to be a prophet of doom or anything and not to set any dates or anything, but just, I mean, we can all see it. We are headed towards destruction as a nation because of our persistent unfaithfulness. And you can get really freaked out about that if you want.

But you know the best thing to do because of where we're at as a nation? Give your heart to God. Because Noah, Daniel, and Job, God gives an example of these three righteous men. Noah, who was there before the flood, the world was pursuing evil after their hearts continually, but Noah walked with God. And Noah was delivered from the judgment that was brought upon the world because of the wickedness.

Daniel is an interesting example as a highlight of a man of righteousness because Daniel is alive while Ezekiel is hearing this from the Lord. Daniel is there in Babylon in the capital serving in his administrator role there under King Nebuchadnezzar. He's alive there. He's probably been there for about 10 or 15 years and he's already become a legend of righteousness because in Daniel chapter 1 it tells us Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.

He purposed in his heart. In Daniel chapter 6, the peers of Daniel, other rulers and authorities in the kingdom, did a full search of Daniel's life. They wanted to find out how many emails he had deleted. They needed to find out some kind of wrong that he had done to disqualify him, to discredit him.

And they came to the conclusion in Daniel chapter 6 verse 5, they searched, they searched, and they said, we can't find anything to charge Daniel with unless it's against something about the law of his God. Because we know he is absolutely sold out to God and he will be faithful to do that. And so even when they convinced the king to cast the law to say nobody can pray and made it illegal to pray, Daniel...

Went through his normal routine. He went up into the room, he opened the windows, and he prayed to God because God was the most important thing in his life. More important than obeying laws, more important than any king, more important than any harm that would come to him for obeying God. He was going to be persistent and consistent in loving God with all of his heart. And then he was delivered from the lion's den because he broke that law. He was delivered from the judgment because of his faithfulness to God. You see,

He gives these example of righteous men showing, look, even if the whole nation around you falls apart, you can preserve yourself by having a right relationship with God. You can deliver yourself. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they would only deliver themselves. Now, you remember in Genesis chapter 18, and this might be what people had in mind, and we're thinking God's going to spare Jerusalem because remember Abraham interceded on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah.

and say, God, I hear you're going to judge and bring fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah. What if there's 50 righteous? It doesn't seem right for you to judge the righteous along with the wicked. And so he stirs up some courage, Abraham does, and he asks the Lord, what if there's 50 righteous? And God responds in Genesis 18, 26, if I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city, I will spare the place for their sakes.

And then Abraham goes and talks him down to 10, but he stops at 10. If there's 10 righteous, God says, I will spare Sodom and Gomorrah for their sakes. So here's something good. So you can deliver yourself in the midst of a completely corrupt nation by giving your heart to God. But there's also this principle that your walk with God also helps some of the people around you. Now, it's not going to save everybody. It's not going to save the nation in every case, but

In fact, these three guys, if they were in Jerusalem, they would still receive the judgment that God promised, but they would deliver themselves. But there is that opportunity that you can have a preserving effect on your family by you walking with God. You can have a preserving effect on your friends, on the people around you, because you are walking with God. Your righteousness does have a positive impact. It has its limits. It doesn't mean that they get to be saved on your behalf.

But your family gets blessed because God's blessing you. Paul points this out in 1 Corinthians 7, talking about the case of a believing spouse with an unbelieving spouse. And what do you do? Do you leave that unbelieving spouse? And God says, no. Even then, he says in 1 Corinthians 7, 14, for the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

So you're the believer. Your spouse is an unbeliever. You want to bail, but God says, no, no, don't, don't, don't. They're going to be blessed. They're going to be protected and preserved. There's going to be benefits that they receive because you as a believer are in their household. And your children are going to be protected and covered because you are there. So don't leave. Don't bail. That's not what's best for them. Your righteousness has a preserving effect. Now it is to a point, but here's the deal. The best thing for your family is

is for you to give your heart to God. The best thing for your workplace is for you to give your heart to God. The best thing for you is to give your heart to God. You can't rely upon somebody else's heart. Well, my spouse is full on, all out for God, so that's enough. I don't need to be that committed. I can dabble in these things and still receive the benefits. No, it doesn't work that way. You're responsible for your own heart. There's no excuses. God's gonna hold you accountable.

How are you doing on the most important thing? Do you love God with all of your heart and your soul and your mind? Where are you at in giving your heart to God? This morning, I want to challenge you. I would ask you to consider these things seriously and soberly. Is there sin issues that you need to deal with? Is there leaven in the house and you need to like clean house and get out those things that cause you to stumble? Don't allow them to just continue. Don't set yourself up to fail.

Set yourself up to live a holy life. Set yourself up to be victorious in walking with God and knowing him. Set yourself up to give your heart to God, holy and completely without holding back and allowing no competing passions or devotions. You need to give your heart to God. Let's pray. God, I pray.

For each one of us, God, wherever we might be, Lord, whatever inquiries we might have as we came in here today, God, I pray for us that you would help us to recognize and see those areas of our hearts that are divided, Lord, that are focused on things that are not of you, that are devoted to things, Lord, where we are following habits or patterns or practices or just issues of the flesh instead of following you.

God, I pray that you would help us to recognize those things, to identify them, and to not allow those things to continue. Lord, help us to deal with sin seriously, to cut it out of our lives. Help us, Lord, to take radical action, to be committed to you, to love you with all of our heart. Lord, that can't be done casually. That can't be done once a week. That needs to be the pursuit of every day, of every moment. We need to live our lives for you. Help us, God, to do that.

Help us to see the need. Help us to see the issue and not be comfortable with the divided heart. But Lord, we do invite you to deal with those idols, to cast down those things, that every exalted thing in our life would be diminished, Lord, that we would recognize you, that we would worship you, and that we would give you your rightful place in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.